Author Topic: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye  (Read 196961 times)

Offline joelson6

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #585 on: May 25, 2015 - 04:24:28 PM »
yea, the gas these days is pure garbage. it's a wonder that the old cars run on it. i run only premium in all the older cars i have.
93 octane here in NJ. i even blend sunoco 114 to thin out the ethanol.




Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #586 on: June 04, 2015 - 12:05:38 PM »
I decided to try the power steering pump pressure modification shown in this article.
http://www.moparaction.com/tech/beep/PUMP_IT_DOWN-re-v1.4.pdf

I have a metric Saginaw pump out of an early 80's Cordoba so I pulled the valve out of that in order to get the spacers I needed.  The metric valve did NOT want to come apart though.  I had the vise grips as tight as I could get them and the valve just spun when I put a wrench on the end.  I ended up heating the valve with my propane torch and sprayed it with penetrating oil.  After that, it came apart easily.  Luckily, the Challenger's valve came right apart without any fuss.

I don't have any calipers to measure the washers but they are VERY thin.  The three washers that were in the metric valve add up to slightly less then 1/16"(.0625).  According to the article, that's about the right thickness to start with.  As you can see, the metric valve is a lot shorter then the Challenger's valve.  I wonder if this means the metric pump puts out even more pressure then the old ones?


I put a piece of thin aluminum flashing under the PS pump to direct the fluid to the catch pan.  I was able to reuse the fluid and not make a mess all over the K-member.  I haven't had a chance to drive the car and test it out yet.  I'll report back once I have that chance.  If it works out nice, I might consider doing that on my Dart project instead of sending the box out to Firm feel.  The Challenger's box only needed a few new seals and it works just fine.  Hopefully the Dart's box will be the same.

Offline ChallengerHK

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #587 on: June 04, 2015 - 12:42:02 PM »
Interested in hearing your results.


"She'll make point five past light speed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, and I've made a lot of special modifications myself."

- Han Solo, Star Wars

Advice Thread - Taking Pictures Of Cars

Offline dutch

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #588 on: June 04, 2015 - 03:08:43 PM »
I`ve done the same to the Cuda`s pump, but it didn`t come close to what I was expecting after reading the article. 
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Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #589 on: June 04, 2015 - 07:24:46 PM »
I would agree with that statement.  I took the car out for a spin and their isn't much difference.  I could easily add another .0625 spacer in there.

Offline Bullitt-

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« Last Edit: June 04, 2015 - 09:01:56 PM by Bullitt- »
Wade  73 Rallye 340..'77 Millennium Falcon...13 R/T Classic   Huntsville, AL
Screwed by Photobucket!

Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #591 on: July 05, 2015 - 09:13:26 PM »
It was a beautiful weekend...perfect for driving an old Mopar. We took the Challenger to my in-laws since it was forecast to be so nice. They let me keep it in their garage last night. It turned over 97,000 miles on the drive there yesterday. I put about 130 miles on it this weekend.

Last night we saw "Hairball" perform. The are an 80's rock cover band. They were very good but I wish I would have had ear plugs. I value my hearing.

On the way home today, the passengers side window started rattling. Then I heard the rectangular nut, that holds the glass to the mechanism, fall off inside the door. The drivers side did the same thing a couple years ago. I'll have to take the door panel off and lock tight the nut back on. You can't tighten the nut a lot or else you risk breaking the glass. Hopefully lock tight will help it stay in place.

There was a car show today which I didn't know about ahead of time. I decided to enter the car at the last minute and won $50. That was cool. Overall, a nice weekend.

Offline blown motor

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #592 on: July 06, 2015 - 12:29:02 PM »
 :2thumbs:
In search of the eternal buzz!

Offline joelson6

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #593 on: July 06, 2015 - 02:59:11 PM »
glad to hear your enjoying the car. i get out in mine when i can. lately, that hasn't been often.